Weight room renovations finished
New equipment meant to enhance athletes training
Bench presses in the new weight room Feb. 27. The new weight room will improve the overall fitness of students.
February 28, 2020
When she entered the new weight room for the first time, junior Reagan Alexander said she was amazed by the new features of the room.
“I was surprised on how high up the ceilings went and how big the windows were,” Alexander said. “It’s nice and spacious and it has a lot of new equipment that’s fun to use.”
Strength and conditioning coach Jessica Gust said the old strength room had a disadvantage of providing little space for athletes who were training.
“It’s just a part of the referendum that we passed two and half years ago. The weight room hasn’t been updated in a really long time and the spot where the old weight room was was not really conducive to having a lot of athletes train at once,” Gust said.
Junior Maddie Olson said in contrast to the previous weight room, the new upgrades have improved her overall experience.
“It’s really nice. Compared to working out in the old strength room for the past however many years, it’s a really nice change because the equipment is so much better and there’s a lot more space,” Olson said. “It’s a lot easier to work out and the equipment helps us get a better work out.”
Gust said she is looking forward to the students being able to use the new room, which will benefit many athletes.
“I’m really excited about the opportunities this is going to provide for our athletes here; but what I’m most excited about is for the kids to have a space to use,” Gust said.
Olson said the improved room could bring more students to participate in athletics.
“Overall the school having this new weight room will encourage more people in general to find their true strength and improve their athletic skills,” Olson said.
Junior Ty’Shawn Lyons said with the new weight room available, it will allow for students to be more involved.
“It’s a lot better, there’s much more opportunities for everybody to get in there. Everybody should be in there everyday,” Lyons said.
According to Gust, students will only be able to use the weight room if they are enrolled in a team, class or the strength and conditioning program.
“It’s not going to be open access, either you’re either going to use it with the team that is coming to do a workout or with strength and conditioning or next year when we add the class, so it was never meant to be like an open gym style facility,” Gust said.
